A ballot proposal seeking permission to sell three parcels of municipal-owned land will go before voters in the Monday, March 10 Oxford Village election.
Voters will be asked to approve “Proposal A” which would allow the village to sell 32, 36 and 38 E. Burdick St. as part of the Oxford Community Development Authority’s (OCDA) concept plan to reconfigure, improve and expand downtown’s southeast parking quadrant.
The three parcels ? formerly residential lots totalling 0.70 acre ? were purchased by the OCDA last year for a total of $585,619.
Because the parcels are village property worth more than $17,700, their sale requires voter-approval, according to village charter.
In February, council split the three lots into six parcels and rezoned them in conformance with the current village master plan.
The three northern lots (totalling 0.35 acre) with frontage on E. Burdick and vacant houses sitting on them on the were rezoned to Downtown Central Business District (C-1). They are labeled Parcels E, C, and A on the diagram to the right.
If the ballot proposal is approved, they will be sold by the village for commercial development such as retail or office space.
The money from the sales will be used to help recoup what the OCDA paid for the land and pay the design and engineering fees associated with the southeast quadrant parking concept plan.
Schutt said selling the lots for commercial development will also expand the amount of office and retail space in the downtown and increase the local tax base.
The three southern lots (totalling 0.35 acre), which used to be backyard areas, were rezoned as Downtown Parking District (P-1). They are labeled Parcels F, D and B on the diagram to the right.
The southeast parking quadrant concept plan calls for these back lots to be converted into additional parking spaces.
Manager Mark Slown said should voters fail the ballot issue, the village will have to bring it before them again in a special election.
“We really need this to pass,” he said.
The southeast quadrant concept plan calls for:
n A total of 169 parking spaces, an increase of 45.
n Repaving the lot and leveling it to improve the current poor drainage.
n Building a “pocket park” ? including trees, a gazebo and benches ? on Stanton St. behind the Oxford 7 movie theater.
n Closing off the Burdick St. one-way entrance to the southeast quadrant (next to Creative Embroidery). Replacing it with eight parking spaces attached to a circular drive that will serve as a “drop-off area” for vehicle passengers and improve traffic circulation through the quadrant. Schutt said the existing entrance is a “traffic safety hazard” that leads to congestion at the Washingtont/Burdick intersection.
n A “sculptural centerpiece” in the middle of the circular drop-off area.
n Widening the intersection where Mill St. meets E. Burdick to form three lanes ? entrance lane, right-turn lane and left-turn lane ? that will further improve traffic circulation through the quadrant.
n Combining the backyard parcels behind 36 and 38 E. Burdick with the current temporary parking lot to create 64 parking spaces on the east side of Mill St.
n Adding trees and planter boxes.
OCDA Executive Director Debbie Schutt estimated the plan will cost between $1.2 million and $1.5 million to complete.
The project will be financed for through bond sales. Half of the money to make the bond payments will come from the OCDA’s budget, while the other half will come from special assessments levied against the 28 individual properties that make-up the southeast quadrant.
The amount each southeast quadrant property owner will be taxed will be based on the total square-footage of each of their properties, Schutt said.
She also noted that should a southeast quadrant property be sold during the life of the bonds, the special assessment would be transferred with the property to its new owner.
Village Bond Counsel John Axe told council Feb. 25 they can either extend the bond payments over 10 or 15 years, but noted that the latter is the “generally accepted norm for bond issues.”
Bond rates are currently “extremely low,” which is to the village’s advantage, Axe said.
“It’s very reasonable and cheap to borrow money at this point,” he said.
Bonding the southeast quadrant project will require two public hearings regarding the special assessments, Axe told council.